Systems and methods for conference calling using personal url

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for managing conference calling using a URL assigned to a conference call organizer. One method includes receiving, from a conference call organizer, a request to be placed into a conference call associated with a URL assigned to the organizer; and receiving, from a prospective conference call participant, a request to be placed into the conference call associated with the URL. Another method includes receiving, from a first user, through a web page of a URL assigned to the first user, a first phone number at which the first user can be called; receiving, from a second user, through the web page of the URL, a second phone number at which the second user can be called; and initiating phone calls to the first user at the first number and the second user at the second number.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally toconference calling over telephones, mobile devices, and/or computers,using PSTN, online, and/or VoIP technologies. More specifically,exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems andmethods for initiating conference calling using a personal URL providedto call participants.

BACKGROUND

Conference calls today are typically initiated and joined using acomplex series of steps. First, a person who wishes to organize aconference call must register a new account with a company that providesconference calling services. The organizer typically must provide thecompany with information such as a full name, address, phone number,e-mail address, a username, and a password. In some cases, theconference calling company may charge a monthly fee or per-minute feesfor the ability to initiate conference calls, in which case theorganizer might also provide the company with a credit card number,expiration date, security code, and billing address.

If the organizer is successful in opening a new account, the conferencecalling service typically provides the organizer with at least threelong numbers: a dial-in number, a conference room number, and amoderator number. The organizer is instructed to provide prospectivecall participants with the dial-in number and conference room number forthem to enter at a call time, but to keep the moderator number secret,for use in initiating the call at the call time. In some cases, theconference calling company provides even more numbers to the organizer.For example, the company might provide the organizer with both toll-free(e.g., 1-800 or 1-877) numbers and local ten-digit numbers that theorganizer and participants can use as dial-in numbers, along withinformation about the different fees associated with dialing-in throughthe toll-free number(s) vs. the local ten-digit numbers. The localten-digit numbers might be provided in a long list of local numberscorresponding to major metropolitan areas, which users can dial based ontheir current location to avoid fees associated with long-distance callsor fees charged by the conference calling company to use the toll-freedial-in number.

Thus, the organizer is often confronted with a web-page or e-mailcontaining as many as 20-30 different phone numbers and dial-in numbers,codes, and/or pins, at least two of which, and possibly more, theorganizer must provide to prospective conference call participants.However, the organizer must be careful to avoid sharing the moderatornumber (sometimes referred to as the moderator pin) in place of theconference room number. In some cases, the conference room number(sometimes referred to as an access code or pin) may be a phone numberfamiliar to the organizer, such as the organizer's phone number, or themoderator pin might be a ten-digit number that resembles a telephonenumber, adding to confusion associated with initiating and managingconference calls.

Even if an organizer successfully provides participants with the rightcombination of numbers (the correct dial-in number(s) and conferenceroom code), and also retains the moderator number or pin for entering toinitiate the call, additional problems may occur. First, any one of theprospective call participants may mis-dial the toll-free or localten-digit dial-in number, and/or they might mis-dial the conference roomcode. In addition, the call organizer might mis-dial one or more of thetoll-free or ten-digit dial-in number, the conference room code, and themoderator code. With these existing technologies, a conference call willonly be successfully initiated if each and every one of the callparticipants and organizer correctly enter the more than nineteen digitsassigned to them.

Moreover, because the dial-in numbers, conference room numbers, andmoderator pins are not memorable, call participants are required to keepall of these numbers readily on hand when they are preparing to dial-into a conference call. Anyone familiar with these dial-in techniques hasexperienced the frustrating process of looking back and forth between ane-mail, calendar invite, or paper, which contains the dial-in numbers,and a phone where those numbers must be entered. The process issusceptible to entering the wrong dial-in number or conference roomcode. Likely thousands of people each year experience the frustration ofwaiting on a conference call for another participant or organizer, onlyto find out that they or their other participants entered the wrongconference room code. Moreover, because these conference call numbersare not memorable, dialing-in while away from a computer, such as from amobile device, is even more challenging. Participants have to write downthe dial-in information before the call, or switch back and forthbetween a phone interface and e-mail or calendar interface to obtain therequired access numbers. In short, existing techniques for initiatingand joining conference calls are replete with inefficiencies anddisadvantages, costing users significant frustration and wasted time andproductivity.

Accordingly, a need exists for systems and methods for initiatingconference calling using more modern telephonic and Internettechnologies. More specifically, a need exists for systems and methodsfor initiating conference calling using a personal URL provided to callparticipants.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to certain embodiments, methods are disclosed for managingconference calling using a URL assigned to a conference call organizer.One method includes receiving, from a conference call organizer, arequest to be placed into a conference call associated with a URLassigned to the organizer; and receiving, from a prospective conferencecall participant, a request to be placed into the conference callassociated with the URL.

According to certain embodiments, systems are disclosed for managingconference calling using a URL assigned to a conference call organizer.One system includes a data storage device storing instructions formanaging conference calling using a URL assigned to a conference callorganizer; and a processor configured to execute the instructions toperform a method including: receiving, from a conference call organizer,a request to be placed into a conference call associated with a URLassigned to the organizer; and receiving, from a prospective conferencecall participant, a request to be placed into the conference callassociated with the URL.

According to certain embodiments, methods are disclosed for managingconference calling using a URL assigned to a conference call user. Onemethod includes receiving, from a first user, through a web page of aURL assigned to the first user, a first phone number at which the firstuser can be called; receiving, from a second user, through the web pageof the URL, a second phone number at which the second user can becalled; and initiating phone calls to the first user at the first numberand the second user at the second number.

According to certain embodiments, systems are disclosed for managingconference calling using a URL assigned to a conference call user. Onesystem includes a data storage device storing instructions for managingconference calling using a URL assigned to a conference call user; and aprocessor configured to execute the instructions to perform a methodincluding: receiving, from a first user, through a web page of a URLassigned to the first user, a first phone number at which the first usercan be called; receiving, from a second user, through the web page ofthe URL, a second phone number at which the second user can be called;and initiating phone calls to the first user at the first number and thesecond user at the second number.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will beset forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of thedisclosed embodiments. The objects and advantages of the disclosedembodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements andcombinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various exemplary embodiments andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a method by which conference callingmay be initiated from a personal URL, according to exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an environment in which conferencecalling may be initiated from a personal URL, and systems for initiatingconference calling from a personal URL, according to exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for initiating conference callingfrom a personal URL, according to exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is another flow diagram of another method for initiatingconference calling from a personal URL, according to exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The present disclosure describes, among other things, systems andmethods for enabling individuals to initiate a voice conference callusing a personal URL that identifies a user's personal, dedicatedconference bridge line. According to certain embodiments, the URL can bedistributed by the originator of the conference call to the otherparticipants by email, instant message, text message, or other means,creating a link that can be clicked on to join the conference call.

Participants who receive the organizer's URL and visit the web pageassociated with the organizer's URL may be prompted to enter a phonenumber where they can be reached, or to join via a Voice over InternetProtocol (“VoIP”) connection to a conference bridging service thatbridges all participants into a single conference call. Specifically, ifthe participant wishes to join the conference call using conventionalvoice telephony from a landline or mobile phone, the participant canenter his/her phone number, and a conference calling system may call theparticipant back at that number, joining the participant to theconference call using the voice telephony. Alternatively, the user canjoin the call using Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) connection toa conference bridging service that bridges all participants into asingle conference call.

In one embodiment, all participants may join the conference call and bebridged into a shared web page where call participants can visually seewho is on the line, who is talking, and the names and/or phone numbersof all call participants. Moreover, participants may join the conferencecall from a mobile device, or from a desktop, using VoIP or by means ofa conventional telephony link using a conferee's phone number. Thepresently-disclosed systems and methods may be implemented using acombination of web applications and mobile apps (such as iOS andAndroid), and the personal URLs can be emailed or transmitted throughe-mail, SMS, or other means to potential conferees.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a methodby which conference calling may be initiated from a personal URL,according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1depicts an organizer 10 and a plurality of participants 20, 30, 40. FIG.1 depicts an overview of a process by which organizer 10 may initiate aconference call with participants 20, 30, 40, using a personalized URL,as opposed to a traditional dial-in number and access code or pin.Specifically, organizer 10 may have obtained a personalized, static URLfrom a conference calling service consistent with the presentlydisclosed systems and methods. For example, organizer 10 may havereceived a URL illustrated in this case as,“www.speek.com/organizername.” It should be appreciated that the domainof the URL (shown here as “speek.com”) may be any domain associated withthe conference calling system practicing the presently disclosedembodiments. The path of the URL (shown here as “organizername”) may beany word, phrase, name, or number selected by the organizer.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the organizer 10 mayenable a conference call by sharing the organizer's personal URL withthe participants by any desired means (Step 1). For example, theorganizer 10 may share the URL with the participants 20, 30, 40 byvoice, telephone, short message service (SMS), instant message (IM),e-mail, mobile application, or any other possible means for sharing aURL. The organizer 10 may share the personal URL with the participantsat any time before a planned conference call. In one embodiment, theorganizer 10 may share the personal URL with the participants 20, 30, 40as soon as the organizer 10 obtains the personal URL, and well beforeany call is scheduled. Thus, participants 20, 30, 40 may have thepersonal URL on file and accessible anytime a conference call isplanned, even though organizer 10 may also send participants 20, 30, 40the URL at the time of scheduling a call.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40may schedule a call at any time and by any means, such as by e-mail,phone, calendar invitation, voice, etc. Then, at or around the proposedcall time, the organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40 may visit theorganizer's personal URL (Step 2). For example, as illustrated in FIG.1, organizer 10 may visit his or her personal URL at a laptop computer12, participant 20 may visit the organizer's personal URL at a desktopcomputer 22, participant 30 may visit the organizer's personal URL atdesktop computer 32, and participant 40 may visit the organizer'spersonal URL using mobile device 42. Of course, the depicted use of adesktop computer, laptop computer, or mobile device is only illustrativeof the ability to access the organizer's personal URL using any knownmeans, and each of the individuals may use any desired device to visitthe organizer's personal URL. In one embodiment, participants 20, 30, 40may visit the organizer's personal URL by clicking a link to the URL inan e-mail or SMS received from the organizer, or by copying and pastingthe received e-mail into a web browser, thereby avoiding the need totype the personal URL and reducing the likelihood of visiting the wrongURL.

In one embodiment, when organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40 visitthe web page associated with the organizer's URL, each of thoseindividuals may be prompted by the web page to enter a phone numberwhere they can currently be reached. For example, the web page mightdisplay a prompt to, “Enter Your Phone Number and We'll Call You.” Eachof the organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40 may then enter a phonenumber that the conference calling system can call back to reach each ofthem, respectively (Step 3). For example, FIG. 1 shows each of organizer10 and participants 20, 30 as entering a phone number where they desireto be called by the conferencing system, including organizer 10 enteringthe phone number of his or her mobile device 14, participant 20 enteringthe phone number of his or her landline telephone 24, and participant 30entering the phone number of his or her mobile device 34.

By contrast, and as an alternative, FIG. 1 shows how participant 40 mayhave visited the organizer's personal URL with a mobile device havinginstalled thereon a mobile app of the conferencing system. As a result,participant 40 may be connected to the organizer's conference callthrough the telephone of mobile device 42 without having to enter thephone number of that telephone. In addition, in one embodiment, iforganizer 10 is already logged-in to the conferencing system on his orher computer 12, then organizer 10 may see that his or her phone numberis pre-entered into the website of the conferencing system. In oneembodiment, participant 30 may, instead of entering a callback number,request to be placed into the organizer's conference call through a VoIPconnection using his or her computer 32. Again, it should be appreciatedthat, while FIG. 1 depicts one exemplary combination of an organizer andparticipants—optionally: (i) entering a phone number of a mobile device14, (ii) entering a phone number of a landline telephone 24, (iii)joining the call through a VoIP connection of computer 32, and/or (iv)joining the call through a mobile application of mobile device 42—anycombination of devices and connections may be used, independent ofwhether a user is an organizer or a participant.

Once organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40 have entered theircall-back phone numbers into the web page of the personal URL (and/orrequested to be joined through a mobile app for VoIP, or called at anumber pre-entered into the system), the conferencing system may callthe organizer 10 and participants 20, 30 at the provided number (Step 4)and/or join participants 30, 40 through the VoIP connection or mobileapplication. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile device 14 oforganizer 10 may ring until organizer 10 answers the call from theconferencing system; the landline telephone 24 of participant 20 mayring until participant 20 answers the call from the conferencing system;the mobile device 34 of participant 30 may ring until participant 30answers the call from the conferencing system. Alternatively oradditionally, the conferencing system may initiate a VoIP call withparticipant 30 through computer 32 and/or initiate a VoIP call (throughthe mobile app) or cellular call (through the phone's cellularconnection) with participant 40 through mobile device 42.

As each of the organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40 establish voicecommunication with the conferencing system through their selected means,the conferencing system may begin placing those individuals into acommon conference call or conference bridge line associated with theorganizer's personal URL, as will be described in more detail below.Accordingly, each of the organizer 10 and participants 20, 30, 40 mayhave very quickly and easily joined a common conference call by simplyvisiting a web page of the organizer's personal URL, and without dialinga conference call dial-in number or entering a conference room number,access code, or moderator pin.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an environment in which conferencecalling may be initiated from a personal URL, and systems for initiatingconference calling from a personal URL, according to exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 2 illustratesan exemplary environment 100 including a plurality of user devices102-106, one or more web servers 108, one or more application servers110, and a voice platform 114, all disposed in communication with anelectronic network, such as the Internet 101. FIG. 2 also depicts one ormore database systems 112 in communication with one or both of webserver(s) 108 and application server(s) 110, as well as a sessioninitiation protocol (“SIP”) trunking interface 116 disposed betweenvoice platform 114 and a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”) 111.

In one embodiment, one or more of web server(s) 108, applicationserver(s) 110, database(s) 112, voice platform 114, and/or SIP interface116 may embody a communications system 200, which may be operated eitherwholly or partially by a conference calling service. Moreover, one ormore of web server(s) 108, application server(s) 110, database(s) 112,voice platform 114, and/or SIP interface 116 may be configured toprovide and execute the method described above with respect to FIG. 1,and the methods that will be described in more detail below with respectto FIGS. 3 and 4.

In one embodiment, user devices 102-106 may be owned and used by one ormore people, who may be any individuals desiring to participate inconference calling consistent with the presently-disclosed embodiments.User devices 102-106 may include any type of electronic deviceconfigured to make telephone calls over PSTN 111 and/or send and receivedata, such as VoIP data, websites, and content, over the Internet 101.

For example, each of user devices 102, 104 may be a personal computer,laptop, and/or server disposed in communication with the Internet 101.Each of user devices 103 may be a traditional telephone configured tomake and receive calls over PSTN 111. Each of user devices 105, 106 mayinclude a mobile device, smartphone, and/or personal digital assistant(“PDA”), tablet computer, or any other kind of mobile device ortouchscreen-enabled device disposed in communication with the Internet101 and also configured to make and receive calls over PSTN 111. In oneembodiment, participation in a conference call according to the presentembodiments may involve at least a connection to the Internet 101 andoptionally a connection to PSTN 111. Thus, a participant associated withcomputer 102 may be able to make VoIP phone calls over the Internet 101,but may alternatively receive a call from communications system 200using telephone 103 via PSTN 111. Likewise, a participant associatedwith laptop 104 may be able to make VoIP phone calls over the Internet101, but may alternatively receive a call from communications system 200using mobile device 105 via PSTN 111. By contrast, a participantassociated with user device 106 may participate in conference callsusing a VoIP connection through the Internet 101 or over PSTN 111, sincedevice 106 may be connected to both networks.

Each of user devices 102, 104, 105, 106 may have a web browser and/ormobile browser installed for receiving and displaying electronic contentreceived from one or more of web server 108 and application server 110.Each of user devices 105, 106 may have an operating system configured toexecute a web or mobile browser, and any type of application, such as amobile application. Each of user devices 102-106 may be configured toexecute JavaScript code to facilitate practicing the methods describedwith respect to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4.

Web server(s) 108 may be owned and/or operated by a conference callingservice, e.g., the entity operating communications system 200. Webserver(s) 108 may be configured to communicate information, such as webpage data, interfaces, user elements, etc. to any browsers of userdevices 102, 104, 105, 106. For example, web server(s) 108 may send webpage data for displaying a virtual conferencing user interface,including prompts to enter phone numbers, messaging interfaces, in-callinterfaces, etc. as will be described in more detail below with respectto the exemplary screenshots of FIGS. 5-12.

Application server(s) 110 may be owned and/or operated by a conferencecalling service, e.g., the entity operating communications system 200.Application server(s) 110 may be configured to receive informationreceived from web server(s) 108, store received information in databasesystem 112, and communicate instructions and information to voiceplatform 114 for executing the methods described above with respect toFIG. 1, and below with respect to FIGS. 3-12. Application server(s) 110may also be configured to communicate information, such as web pagedata, interfaces, user elements, etc. to any desktop clients and/ormobile applications of user devices 102, 104, 105, 106. In oneembodiment, application server(s) 108 may implement any type orcombination of application programming interfaces (“APIs”) tocommunicate data between web server(s) 108, database 112, and/or voiceplatform 114.

In one embodiment, voice platform 114 may include any type oftelecommunications platform configured to execute conference callingbetween both PSTN and VoIP environments. In one embodiment, voiceplatform 114 and/or SIP interface 116 may operate a cross-platformtelephony platform designed to operate VoIP calling and interconnectphone calls with PSTN 111, among other things. In one embodiment, voiceplatform 114 may be configured to interact with an API of applicationserver(s) 110 to provide user devices 102-106 with conference calling,XML-RPC control of live calls, interactive voice response (IVR)services, TTS/ASR (text to speech/automatic speech recognition), publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) interconnectivity (supporting bothanalogue and digital), and voice over IP protocols including SIP, SCCP,H.323, XMPP, GoogleTalk, t.38, among others. In one embodiment, voiceplatform 114 and SIP interface 116 may be implemented in an open sourceplatform, such as FreeSWITCH or Asterisk.

Database 112 may be configured to store any events and/or data thatinteracts with communication system 200 or its components. For example,database 112 may store user profile information, including usernames,passwords, URLs, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. In oneembodiment, database 112 may be indexed or otherwise structured tofacilitate prompt recall of data for each user. In one embodiment,database 112 may store all events that occur in imitating and conductingconference calls through communications system 200. For example,database 112 may store call times (start, end, length, dialing time,answer time, etc.), phone numbers, documents shared, text messagesexchanged, and so on. In one embodiment, database 112 may permanentlystore and provide access to any files or text shared during anyconference call. In one embodiment, database 112 may be a MySQL databaseor a NoSQL database.

Any of user devices 102-106, web server(s) 108, application server(s)110, and voice platform 114 may include any type or combination ofcomputing systems, such as handheld devices, personal computers,servers, clustered computing machines, and/or cloud computing systems.In one embodiment, each of user devices 102-106, web server(s) 108,application server(s) 110, and voice platform 114 may be an assembly ofhardware, including a memory, a central processing unit (“CPU”), and/oroptionally a user interface. The memory may include any type of RAM orROM embodied in a physical storage medium, such as magnetic storageincluding floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; semiconductorstorage such as solid state disk (SSD) or flash memory; optical discstorage; or magneto-optical disc storage. The CPU may include one ormore processors for processing data according to instructions stored inthe memory. The functions of the processor may be provided by a singlededicated processor or by a plurality of processors. Moreover, theprocessor may include, without limitation, digital signal processor(DSP) hardware, or any other hardware capable of executing software. Theuser interface may include any type or combination of input/outputdevices, such as a display monitor, touchpad, touchscreen, microphone,camera, keyboard, and/or mouse.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for initiating conference callingfrom a personal URL, according to exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3 depicts a method 300 by whichparticipants 20, 30, 40, organizer 10, and communications system 200 mayinteract, such as by using any of user devices 102-106, web server(s)108, application server(s) 110, and voice platform 114, to initiate andmanage conference calling using an organizer's personal URL.

In one embodiment, method 300 may begin with a registration process inwhich an organizer 10 selects a user name (not shown). The username maybe a memorable name, address, or number that the organizer 10 wishes tobe included in his or her personal URL. Thus, communications system 200may provide organizer 10 with a personal, static URL (step 302). In oneembodiment, the personal URL provided to the organizer may have as itspath the username selected by the organizer 10. For example, asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1, if organizer 10 selects the username“organizername,” then communications system 200 may assign to theorganizer the personal, static URL, “www.speek.com/organizername”(assuming “speek.com” is the domain of the conference calling service).

Method 300 may then include the organizer sending one or moreprospective call participants 20, 30, 40 the organizer's personal URL,possibly along with a call time (step 304). As described above,organizer 10 may send the personal URL to the participants at any timeafter receiving the personal URL from the communications system 200. Inone embodiment, organizer 10 may send his or her personal URL to everyone of his or her social and/or professional contacts, independent ofany call scheduled with them. For example, organizer 10 might publishhis or her personal URL on a social network, and/or include it in ane-mail signature. Alternatively, organizer 10 might only send his or herpersonal URL to prospective call participants, such as in the body of ane-mail proposing a conference call and/or in a calendar invitation,anytime between when a call is scheduled and when the call occurs.

At or around the time of a proposed conference call, participants 20,30, 40 may request the web page of the organizer's personal URL (step306). If organizer 10 sent his or her personal URL in an e-mail, SMS,calendar invitation, or some other electronic means, then participants20, 30, 40 may request the web page of the URL by simply clicking on theURL link in the e-mail, SMS, etc., or by copying and pasting the URLinto a browser address bar. Even if organizer 10 provided his or herpersonal URL by voice or some other means that is not easily accessible,because the organizer 10 may have partially created the URL to include amemorable name or phrase, the participants 20, 30, 40 may more likely beable to easily remember and type the personal URL into a browser addressbar.

When each of the participants 20, 30, 40 visits the web page of theorganizer's personal URL, the communications system 200 may display arequest for the participant's phone number (step 310). For example, oneor more of web server(s) 108 may display a web page containing a requestfor any phone number where the participant can be immediately reached.For example, the web page might include a prompt to, “Enter Your PhoneNumber and We'll Call You.”

Also at or around the time of the proposed conference call, theorganizer 10 may also request the web page of the organizer's personalURL (step 308). In other words, the organizer may visit his or her ownassigned personal, static URL. Because the organizer may have a staticURL assigned as his or her personal URL, for use in any desiredconference calls, the organizer may have set the URL as a bookmarkand/or a home page in his or her web browser, and/or saved a browserlink to the URL on the organizer's operating system desktop.

When the organizer 10 visits his or her own personal URL toinitiate/join the conference call, the content of the web page maychange depending on whether the organizer is signed-in to the web page(e.g., whether the conferencing service has a cookie stored on theorganizer's web browser) and one or more settings selected by theorganizer (step 312). For example, if web server 108 detects, e.g., froma browser cookie, that the organizer 10 is the individual requesting theorganizer's personal URL, then the web page may include, for example, awelcome message to the organizer and/or indicia reflecting a defaultphone number typically used or selected by the organizer. In addition oralternatively, the organizer 10 may be placed into an account page ordashboard, for example, if the organizer logs-in or has prevsiouslylogged-in with proper credentials within a predetermined time interval.Thus, organizer 10 might be presented with a user element, e.g., buttonlink, to request to be called at the pre-entered phone number.Alternatively, if organizer 10 is requesting the web page of his or herpersonal URL from an unrecognized device or browser, then organizer 10may be presented with a request for any phone number where the organizercan be immediately reached. For example, the web page might include aprompt to, “Enter Your Phone Number and We'll Call You.”

As shown in FIG. 3, having been prompted to enter their phone number,one or more of participants 20, 30, 40 may enter their phone number atthe web page of the organizer's URL (step 314). In addition, at oraround the same time, organizer 10 may either enter his or her phonenumber, or click a link to be called at a pre-entered phone number (step316). In one embodiment, as participants 20, 30, 40 and/or organizer 10enter their phone numbers and/or request to be called at a pre-enteredphone number, a web server 108 receiving the phone numbers and/orrequests to be called at those phone numbers may transfer that data toapplication server(s) 110 and voice platform 114 to initiate phone callsto participants 20, 30, 40 and organizer 10. Thus, communications system200 may initiate calls to the organizer and one or more participants atthe provided phone numbers, as they request to be called (step 318).

As communications system 200 initiates calls to participants 20, 30, 40and organizer 10, such as through voice platform 114 and SIP interface116, and PSTN 111 and/or the Internet 101, the telephones and/orcomputers associated with the provided phone numbers may begin to ringor otherwise indicate an incoming call. Each of participants 20, 30, 40and organizer 10 may then answer the phone (steps 320, 322), as shown inFIG. 3, and described above with respect to FIG. 1. As participants 20,30, 40 and organizer 10 answer their respective phones or join throughtheir computer VoIP connections, communications system 200 may placethem into a conference call (step 322). For example, communicationssystem 200 may use the cross-platform telecommunications applicationimplemented on voice platform 114 and SIP interface 116 to join thevoice connections with each participant into a common conference callbridge.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, as communications system 200places one or more of participants 20, 30, 40 and organizer 10 into thecommon conference call bridge, the communications system 200 may alsosend the participants 20, 30, 40 and organizer 10 an in-call web page(steps 324, 326). For example, in one embodiment, the web page of theorganizer's personal URL may update in real time based on theinteraction of participants 20, 30, 40 and organizer 10 with theirtelephones and with the web page. For example, when each of participants20, 30, 40 and organizer 10 provide their respective phone numbers andask to be called, the web page of the organizer's URL may refresh orupdate to indicate that communications system 200 is calling therespective user's phone. Once the participants 20, 30, 40 and organizer10 have answered the phone, the web page of the organizer's URL mayrefresh or update to display a status of the conference call and one ormore events associated with the conference call, as will be described inmore detail below.

FIG. 4 is another flow diagram of another method for initiatingconference calling from a personal URL, according to exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4 depicts aflow diagram of a method 400 by which any user (e.g., organizer 10,participants 20, 30, 40) may interact with web and application servers108, 110 and/or voice platform 114 of communications system 200 in orderto practice the exemplary method 300 of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, a user, either an organizer or participant, mayinitiate joining a conference call (step 402). As discussed above, theuser may initiate joining a conference call through any of a desktop orlaptop computer, tablet device, mobile device, telephone, etc. Uponjoining a conference call, such as by visiting a web page of anorganizer's URL, the user may request to subscribe to updates associatedwith the conference call (step 404).

The user may then send a callback phone number to the web andapplication servers 108, 110 (step 406). The web and application servers108, 110 may ask or instruct the voice platform 114 to call the user'scallback number (step 408). The voice platform 114, optionally throughSIP interface 116, may call the user at the provided callback number(step 410). The user may answer the call from the voice platform 114(step 412). Upon detecting that the user answered the call, and uponplacing the user into the desired conference call, the voice platform114 may publish as an “event” that the user joined the conference call(step 414). For example, voice platform 114 may inform applicationserver(s) 110 that the user has entered the conference, such that theapplication server(s) 110 may update any users associated with theconference call, such as by updating the website of the organizer'spersonal URL. Thus, upon publishing the event of the user's arrival tothe conference room, the web and application servers 108, 110 may notifythe user and any other users associated with the conference call of theevent that that the user joined the conference call (step 416).

In one embodiment, at any time during a conference call, the user mayinitiate a web-based event (step 418). For example, the user may requestto send a text note or message to other users in the conference callthrough a display on the web page of the organizer's URL. Alternativelyor additionally, the user may request to upload and share a file (e.g.,a photo, document, audio/video clip, etc.) with other users in theconference call through the web page of the organizer's URL. The usermight request to initiate a private chat or instant message window withone or more of the other users in the conference call. The user mightalternatively request to share a display of his or her computer screenor desktop with one or more of the other users in the conference call.Upon receiving the user's request to initiate the web event, web andapplication servers 108, 110 may publish the event 420. For example, inone embodiment, web and application servers 108, 110 may interact with acloud-hosted messaging system to push real time data about the event tothe other users' web, tablet and/or mobile devices. Web and applicationservers 108, 110 may therefore notify other users about the user's webevent (step 422), by virtue of the users' subscription to eventsassociated with the conference call during step 404. For example, weband application servers 108, 110 may cooperate to refresh or update theweb page of the organizer's URL, and/or send text or mobile app updatesto the users' mobile devices.

In one embodiment, at any time during a conference call, the user mayinitiate a call event (step 424). For example, the user may talk intohis or her phone, drop off the call, mute his or her line, place his orher telephone on hold, press a number or pound or star key, or performany other telephony-based action. Upon detecting the user's call event,voice platform 114 may publish the event by informing applicationserver(s) 110 about the user's call event (step 426). Upon receivingnotice of the user's call event, web and application servers 108, 110may publish the event. For example, in one embodiment, web andapplication servers 108, 110 may interact with a cloud-hosted messagingsystem to push real time data about the event to the other users' web,tablet and/or mobile devices. Web and application servers 108, 110 maytherefore notify other users about the user's web event (step 428). Forexample, web and application servers 108, 110 may cooperate to refreshor update the web page of the organizer's URL, and/or send text ormobile app updates to the users' mobile devices.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary screenshot of a web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5shows an exemplary sign-up page 500 which may be implemented by aconference calling service to engage users to participate in the methodsdescribed above. In one embodiment, a user may be prompted to enter aname, phrase, or any other textual information for use in generating apersonal, static URL for the user to use as a call originator. As shownin FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the user's personal URL may contain adomain 502 associated with the conference calling service (in this case“speek.com”) and a path 504 containing the user's selected username (inthis case “/johnbracken”). Thus, in one embodiment, the user's personalURL may contain the user's desired username, enabling easy memorizationand typing of the user's personal URL into a mobile or web browser'saddress bar. Also, during the sign-up process depicted in FIG. 5, theuser may see not only a preview of his or her prospective personal URL,but also indicia 506 of whether the displayed username, and thereforethe displayed URL, is available or unavailable.

FIG. 6 depicts another screenshot of the web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 6depicts an exemplary instruction page 506, which explains a conceptualframework of the presently disclosed systems and methods. For example,instruction page 506 may display the instruction, “NOW SIMPLY SENDPEOPLE TO: speek.com/johnbracken TO JOIN YOUR SPEEK CALL. SEND THISINSTEAD OF A PHONE NUMBER AND PIN.”

FIG. 7 depicts another screenshot of the web interface and system forinitiating conference calling from a personal URL, according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 7depicts a prompt 508 by which communications system 200 may request auser's phone number when he or she visits an organizer's personal URL,consistent with step 310 of method 300 (FIG. 3) discussed above.Specifically, prompt 508 may read, “WELCOME TO YOUR CALL. ENTER YOURPHONE NUMBER AND WE′LL CALL YOU.” As shown in FIG. 7, the user viewingthe prompt may have entered their phone number into a form 510, and thenbe able to request to be called at that entered phone number, byclicking the button link 512 reading “CALL ME NOW.” In one embodiment,while viewing the web page requesting the user's phone number, the webpage may also display indicia 514 of the number of people already on theconference call associated with the organizer's URL. Thus, a user mayknow how many people are already on the call, before even picking up thephone. In addition, the web page may display a link 516 for the user tojoin the call through the computer or device through which the user isviewing the web page, such as through a VoIP connection. In addition,the web page may display another link 518 that links to a pagedisplaying other ways to join a call. In one embodiment, link 518 mayload a page that describes a user's option to join the call by dialing atraditional dial-in number, or to join the call by texting apredetermined code to a phone number associated with the conferencingservice. For example, in one embodiment, a user may alternatively jointhe organizer's call by texting (by SMS, IM, or app) the organizer'susername (i.e., the path of the organizer's URL) to a phone numberassociated with the conferencing service. In one embodiment, once theuser has entered their phone number and clicked the “CALL ME NOW”button, the web page may immediately update or refresh to replace prompt508 with a notice 520 that the communications system 200 is calling theuser. For example, in one embodiment, the notice 520 may read, “JOINYOUR CALL. PICK UP, WE′RE CALLING YOU NOW.” In addition, the web pagemay replace the “CALL ME NOW” button with a link 522 to cancel the call.

Once the user has answered the call from the communications system 200,the web page visible to the user (still associated with the organizer'sURL) may update to display an in-call page 526, as shown in FIG. 9. Asshown in FIG. 9, in one embodiment, a user may manipulate user element527 to change a title viewed by the call participants in relation to theconference call. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the in-call page526 may depict a plurality of avatars 528, each avatar 528 beingassociated with one of the users joined into the conference call. In oneembodiment, avatars 528 may be animations or photos of the users, whichmay have been uploaded by the respective users. Alternatively, avatars528 may be replaced with live video feeds of the joined callparticipants, using one or more cameras of the respective participants'computers or mobile devices. As shown in FIG. 9, in one embodiment,avatars 528 may be depicted as being gathered around an object 530,which may be a photo or illustration of any object, such a conferencetable, a water cooler, a white board, a campfire, or any other imageselected by or uploaded by the organizer or one of the participants.

In one embodiment, the in-call page 526 may include a user element 532by which one or more of the users may initiate sharing of one or morefiles. User element 532 may or may not be associated with the object530. In one embodiment, users may drag files (e.g., photos, documents,presentations, video/audio clips, etc.) from their local computers ormobile devices onto the user element 532 to automatically upload andshare those files with the other call participants.

In one embodiment, the in-call page 526 may include a user element 534by which a user may initiate textual communication with one or moreother users in the conference call; a user element 536 by which anyusers in the conference call may request to add another user to theconference call; and a user element 538 to end the call. FIG. 10 depictsan exemplary text interface 540 that may pop-up or otherwise appear upona user's selection of user element 534. Text interface 540 may enablethe user to communicate by text with all of the participants in theconference call, or to individually select a subset of one or moreparticipants with whom to communicate by text. FIG. 11 depicts a userinterface 542 that may pop-up or otherwise appear upon a user'sselection of user element 536. As shown in FIG. 11, in one embodiment,any user in the conference call may select user element 536 and theninteract with user interface 542 to request to join another user intothe conference call, such as by phone, e-mail, or SMS. For example, userinterface 542 may request the user to enter the contact information(e.g., phone number, e-mail address, social networking alias, etc.) forthe method the user requests the communications system 200 to use tocontact and join the prospective new participant.

FIG. 12 depicts another screenshot of a connection interface 550 that auser may open to update their displayed name and/or their linked e-mailaddress(s), phone number(s), and social or professional networkprofiles. For example, a user may click one or more links in connectioninterface 550 to update displayed contact information or social networkinformation. The user may alternatively or additionally fill-in one ormore forms in connection interface 500 to edit or provide additionalcontact or social networking information.

The foregoing screenshots of FIGS. 5-12 are only exemplary in nature andfor purposes of illustrating possible user interfaces consistent withthe systems and methods described with respect to FIGS. 1-4. It shouldbe appreciated that any other style of a web interface may be used tocarry out the methods of FIGS. 1-4. Moreover, any of the depictedscreenshots may be implemented in any of a desktop client, web browser,mobile browser, and/or mobile application, depending on available userdevices and user preferences.

By eliminating the use of the traditional dial-in number, conferenceroom number, and moderator number, the presently disclosed systems andmethods allow users to more quickly and easily join calls without havingto look up these numbers to join the call. Additionally, the presentlydisclosed systems and methods allow participants to join either via aphone call made directly to the participant from the conference system(if the user is on a landline or mobile phone using voice technology) orvia a voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) session on the participant'scomputer or mobile device.

Although the presently-disclosed systems and methods are described withrespect to audio conferencing, it should be appreciated that they may beequally as applicable to commence an audiovisual conference as well. Inaddition, there is no limit to the number of participants that canquickly and easily join a conference call.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

1. A computer-implemented method for managing conference calling, themethod comprising: receiving over an electronic network, from aconference call organizer, a request to be placed into a conference callassociated with a URL assigned to the organizer, the URL being createdat least in part based on a selection by the organizer; receiving overthe electronic network, from a prospective conference call participant,a request to be placed into the conference call associated with the URL;and initiating, by at least one processor, joining of a voice sessionwith the conference call organizer and a voice session with theprospective conference call participant into a conference call bridge.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request from the conference callorganizer is received upon the organizer clicking a link on a web pageof the URL.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request from theprospective conference call participant is received upon the prospectiveconference call participant clicking a link on a web page of the URL. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a secondprospective conference call participant, through a web page of the URL,a request to join a conference call associated with the URL through avoice over internet protocol (VoIP) connection; and initiating joining avoice session with the second prospective conference call participantinto the conference call bridge.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein therequest from the conference call organizer includes a phone number atwhich the conference call organizer can be called.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: initiating a call to the conference callorganizer at the phone number at which the conference call organizer canbe called.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request from theprospective conference call participant includes a phone number at whichthe prospective conference call participant can be called.
 8. The methodof claim 7, further comprising: initiating a call to the prospectiveconference call participant at the phone number at which the prospectiveconference call participant can be called.
 9. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, from the conference call organizer or theprospective conference call participant, through a web page of the URL,a request to publish text or a file to the web page; and updating theweb page based on the request from the conference call organizer or theprospective conference call participant.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a request to be joined into the conferencecall through a voice over IP connection.
 11. A system for managingconference calling, the system comprising: a data storage device storinginstructions for managing conference calling using a URL assigned to aconference call organizer; and a processor configured to execute theinstructions to perform a method including: receiving, from a conferencecall organizer, a request to be placed into a conference call associatedwith a URL assigned to the organizer, upon the conference call organizerselecting a link on a web page of the URL assigned to the organizer; andreceiving, from a prospective conference call participant, a request tobe placed into the conference call associated with the URL assigned tothe organizer, upon the prospective conference call participantselecting a link on a web page of the URL assigned to the organizer; andinitiating bridging a voice session with the conference call organizerand a voice session with the prospective conference call participantinto a conference call.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein theprocessor is further configured for: receiving, from a secondprospective conference call participant, through the web page of theURL, a request to join the conference call associated with the URLthrough a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) connection; and initiatingjoining a voice session with the second prospective conference callparticipant into the bridged voice sessions in the conference call. 13.The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured for:receiving, from the conference call organizer or the prospectiveconference call participant, through the web page of the URL, a requestto publish text or a file to the web page; and updating the web pagebased on the request from the conference call organizer or theprospective conference call participant.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein the processor is further configured for: initiating joining avoice session with the conference call organizer and a voice sessionwith the prospective conference call participant into a conference callbridge using a SIP trunking connection to the public switched telephonenetwork.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the request from theconference call organizer includes a phone number at which theconference call organizer can be called.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the processor is further configured for: initiating a call tothe conference call organizer at the phone number at which theconference call organizer can be called.
 17. The system of claim 11,wherein the request from the prospective conference call participantincludes a phone number at which the prospective conference callparticipant can be called.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein theprocessor is further configured for: initiating a call to theprospective conference call participant at the phone number at which theprospective conference call participant can be called.
 19. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the URL is created at least in part based on aselection by the organizer.
 20. The system of claim 11, furthercomprising receiving a request to be joined into the conference callthrough a voice over IP connection.
 21. A computer-implemented methodfor managing conference calling, the method comprising: receiving overan electronic network, from a first user, through a web page of a URLassigned to the first user, a first phone number at which the first usercan be called; receiving over an electronic network, from a second user,through the web page of the URL, a second phone number at which thesecond user can be called; initiating phone calls to the first user atthe first number and the second user at the second number; andinitiating, by at least one processor, joining a voice session with thefirst user and a voice session with the second user into a commonconference call bridge.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the seconduser obtained the URL assigned to the first user, in response to acommunication from the first user.
 23. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: receiving, from a third user, through the web page of theURL, a request to join a conference call associated with the URL througha voice over internet protocol (VoIP) connection; and initiating joininga voice session with the third user into the common conference callbridge.
 24. The method of claim 21, further comprising: initiatingjoining a voice session with the first user and a voice session with thesecond user into a common conference call bridge using a SIP trunkingconnection to the public switched telephone network.
 25. The method ofclaim 21, further comprising: receiving, from the first user or thesecond user, through a web page of a URL, a request to publish text or afile to the web page; and updating the web page based on the requestfrom the first user or the second user.
 26. The method of claim 21,wherein the URL is created at least in part based on a selection by thefirst user or second user.
 27. A system for managing conference calling,the system comprising: a data storage device storing instructions formanaging conference calling using a URL assigned to a conference calluser; and a processor configured to execute the instructions to performa method comprising: receiving, from a first user, through a web page ofa URL assigned to the first user, a first phone number at which thefirst user can be called; receiving, from a second user, through the webpage of the URL, a second phone number at which the second user can becalled; initiating phone calls to the first user at the first number andthe second user at the second number; and initiating joining a voicesession with the first user and a voice session with the second userinto a common conference call bridge.
 28. The system of claim 27,wherein the second user obtained the URL assigned to the first user,from the first user via either a verbal conversation, electronic mail,or electronic messaging.
 29. The system of claim 27, wherein theprocessor is further configured for: receiving, from a third user,through the web page of the URL, a request to join a conference callassociated with the URL through a voice over internet protocol (VoIP)connection; and initiating joining a voice session with the third userinto the common conference call bridge.
 30. The system of claim 27,wherein the processor is further configured for: receiving, from thefirst user or the second user, through a web page of a URL, a request topublish text or a file to the web page; and updating the web page basedon the request from the first user or the second user.